konceptual99

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Posts by konceptual99

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  109

  The Confederate Flag

  by Simon in

  1. social
  2. current

  the latest controversy over the confederate flag just sums up to me the state of dysfunction that exists in american society.. in summary: a white supremacist nutter shoots 9 black people dead in a church.

  he's clearly inspired by the messages of others which the confederate flag is often a symbol of.. it seems like a no-brainer to remove it.

  not only isn't it removed, it isn't even lowered at all as a mark of respect.. and of course now there are the people who want to defend their right to have it.

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  konceptual99

  If we get rid of something every time it gets hijacked by nutters and extremists, then we can say goodbye to the German National anthem, the Union Jack, the Premier League, God save the Queen, 10 green bottles (10 German bombers) and Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau (whales! whales! bloody great fish are whales..)

  True to a point but the Union flag and God Save The Queen are have official and national status. Whilst they can be used by extremists in jingoistic actions they are equally used by people of all backgrounds, colours and creeds as part of an overall national identity. Black athletes, for example, are equally proud to wear the flag, sing the anthem and represent the UK in sports events as any white athlete. Although Britain has a colonial history and certainly cannot claim to be free of racism, the flag and anthem do not evoke such strong feelings when used in genuinely non-extremist situations and it is possible to delineate between the appropriate and inappropriate use of the the Union flag and the national anthem.

  As far as I know, the Confederate flag has no nationally official status. I agree however, that it might be possible that the passing of time may have diminished it's intrinsic link with a war closely associated with slavery and may have more general, idealistic connotations - the question is has it or has it done so enough so that it can readily be accepted as representative of the ideals of the majority of the people who live in the Southern states?

  It might be being used as a scapegoat for wider issues but if few black people can find any positive association with the Confederate flag then surely questions over it's use, especially in an official capacity.
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  109

  The Confederate Flag

  by Simon in

  1. social
  2. current

  the latest controversy over the confederate flag just sums up to me the state of dysfunction that exists in american society.. in summary: a white supremacist nutter shoots 9 black people dead in a church.

  he's clearly inspired by the messages of others which the confederate flag is often a symbol of.. it seems like a no-brainer to remove it.

  not only isn't it removed, it isn't even lowered at all as a mark of respect.. and of course now there are the people who want to defend their right to have it.

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  konceptual99

  From my completely detached situation here in the UK I can kind of understand the argument that the flag represents heritage and an implicit Southern spirit of freedom of speech, independence and not being dictated to by a detached government located far away. This is especially the case given how the Union flag and St. Georges Cross of England have been associated with the far right here. The fact is, however, that the Confederate flag is intrinsically linked with the US Civil War and what you cannot ever detach from the Civil War, from fight for some concept of "rights" is the implicit right to continue exploiting people as slaves.

  I can accept that of all the people who choose to wear or fly the Confederate flag not all of them are racists and are trying merely to hark back to some romantic ideal of what the South represents, but from my limited time in the southern states it does seem that the majority of people I saw flying the flag did fit the stereotype of the bullish, knuckle headed redneck. Hardly the most inspiring of role models.

  Surely you have to ask if the Confederate flag represents the spirit and heritage of South and perhaps has simply been hijacked by a minority for racist purposes, why so few, if indeed any, black people fly it on their houses, drape their cars with it and wear clothing with the flag all over it? Even if you maintain a romantic view of the Confederate flag it surely only represents the heritage of white people in the South? Is there any positive message regarding the history and heritage of black people in the South connected with the flag?

  
  
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  43

  Change to dress and grooming rules for JWs in USA soon?

  by RayPublisher in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  my guy with the lurk account on jwtalk (where all the kool-aid drinking jws go to talk about how wonderful 'the twoof' is) sent me some more interesting threads, here's one:.

  spoiler: starting new the new service year september.

  "there will be new directives from the branch through the circuit overseer on dress and grooming that will disqualify one to be a congregation publisher.

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  konceptual99

  Uh oh..... da wurld's meeja have given Morris licence to condemn...

  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-33223045
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  43

  Change to dress and grooming rules for JWs in USA soon?

  by RayPublisher in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  my guy with the lurk account on jwtalk (where all the kool-aid drinking jws go to talk about how wonderful 'the twoof' is) sent me some more interesting threads, here's one:.

  spoiler: starting new the new service year september.

  "there will be new directives from the branch through the circuit overseer on dress and grooming that will disqualify one to be a congregation publisher.

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  konceptual99

  Just to clarify that my comments are about the thread and OP on jwtalk not here....
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  43

  Change to dress and grooming rules for JWs in USA soon?

  by RayPublisher in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  my guy with the lurk account on jwtalk (where all the kool-aid drinking jws go to talk about how wonderful 'the twoof' is) sent me some more interesting threads, here's one:.

  spoiler: starting new the new service year september.

  "there will be new directives from the branch through the circuit overseer on dress and grooming that will disqualify one to be a congregation publisher.

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  konceptual99

  This is a bollocks thread. The op has a history of creating threads with unsubstantiated rumours and never backing them up. I wouldn't waste time speculating on it here.
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  14

  Australian Football player Alex Rance

  by Mattieu in

  1. social
  2. current

  how can i describe alex rance?

  if i was from the uk or europe, imagine your best football goal keeper.

  if from the usa, imagine your best defence player in the nfl.

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  konceptual99

  Looks like he re-signed (not resigned)...

  http://www.msn.com/en-au/sport/afl/i-nearly-walked-away-from-afl-richmond-defender-alex-rance/ar-AAbVCtV
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  24

  Org is going to appeal!

  by The Searcher in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  the english woman who has been awarded 275,000 compensation for being abused by the ministerial servant paedophile, will now have to wait while the org fights to keep hold of its precious money, by appealing the court's decision.. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-33201010.

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  konceptual99

  As pointed out by Cofty in another thread, the judge found that there is a clear hierarchy in place with a essentially a career path that is analogous to other churches. There is clear submission to authority.

  As much as the WTS would like to argue that it's not a top down organisation it's impossible to argue otherwise. Only last week there was a WT study talking about training ones to take positions of responsibility, "reach out" and so on. It's 100% clear not just anyone can become a MS or Elder. There are qualifications. They are recommended by their superiors.

  It's unreasonable to suggest that the Elders can prevent all acts of child abuse however when a KNOWN abuser is active in the congregation to imply the elders do not have any duty of care or that confidentiality trumps child safety is pure negligence.

  I am sick and tired of seeing JWs jump to the defence of the organisation everytime something like this comes up. I am sick and tired of them suggesting it's the fault of the parents or questioning why the victim or their family did not call the police when the cultural pressure to keep Jehovah's name out of these situations was (and is) still so strong. I am sick and tired of being called disloyal and boarding on being an apostate when I try and present a balanced view of the situation.

  I really hope the victim get's her compensation but I hope even more that this empowers more victims to come forward and force the WTS to make some simple but fundamental changes that would minimise the future risk as far as possible.
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  33

  Why are JWs so against debate

  by enigma1863 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  if the jws follow proverbs 27:17 they should not be afraid of any tension or friction.. in order for iron to sharpen iron you need pressure, tension friction and a bit of heated debate..

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  konceptual99

  There's nothing the WTS likes less than mass debate.

  Fnarr fnarr. Nudge nudge. Wink wink.

  Did you see what I did there?
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  41

  Jehovahs Witnesses to pay 6 figure sum to sex abuse victim. UK.

  by The Scotsman in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-33201010.

  story just broke in uk!!!!

  a woman who claimed jehovah's witness elders failed to protect her from sex abuse carried out by a convicted paedophile has won a six-figure payout.

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  konceptual99

  This is all over the BBC - just heard it on the radio news.
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  40

  Can't sign out!

  by stillin in

  1. forum
  2. tech-support

  my wife has recently become very curious about my activity on my ipad.

  i delete my browsing history but if she should discover this site and my identity here, she will gladly hand me over to the hangman, something i have managed to avoid for quite some time now,.

  i hit the "sign out" button, but i find that i'm still logged in!

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  konceptual99

  Incognito / private browsing is your friend....